The case study explores Yes!poho, a digital platform launched in 2017 to revolutionise the traditional saree-shopping experience while empowering rural artisans. Founded by Raghuram Kuchibhatla and Meenakshi Dubey, the platform connects customers directly with weavers to offer customisable, high-quality sarees, using technology to bridge market gaps. Yes!poho’s asset-light model enables artisans to list their creations via a mobile app, eliminating intermediaries and ensuring fair pricing. For customers, the startup introduced enhanced features such as virtual saree trials, design customisation and an online social community to replicate key aspects of the traditional in-store saree shopping experience. By 2021, Yes!poho had onboarded more than 10,000 weavers across India and facilitated more than 350,000 customer engagements.

However, the company faced mounting challenges, including low conversion rates, limited customer engagement and operational issues with logistics and product returns. The founders had to navigate supply-side obstacles such as distrust among artisans and the need for scalable onboarding processes, in addition to upgrading technology and ensuring customer engagement on their platform. With dwindling customer engagement and low conversion rates, the founders were faced with the dilemma of scaling up for growth while boosting engagement on their platform, all while staying true to their founding vision of uplifting India’s artisan communities.